LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY MARKET SUMMARY
AND ANALYSIS (Late Edition) ARCHIVES

<---D070--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Monday April 9th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5663.3   +61.8

FTSE 250:  6043.3  -8.3

FTSE A/S: 2718.22   +23.80

TechMARK 100: 1749.08   -31.03

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 closed higher thanks to oil and telecommunications shares. A positive financial outlook announcement from US online retailer Amazon.Com was also a factor. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank Plc, Astrazeneca, Baltimore Technology, Bass Plc, BG Group Plc, Billiton Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British American Tobacco, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Claims Direct, Computacenter, Debenhams Plc, Dimension Data Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Eircom, EMI Group Plc, Fairey Group, Galen Holdings, Genemedix, GlaxoSmithKline, Guardian IT Plc, Halifax Group Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco, International Power, J Sainsbury, Kewill Systems, Knowledge Support Systems, Land Securities, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Lloyds TSB Group, London Bridge Software, NSB Retail Systems, Oasis Stores, Orange, Powergen, Prudential Plc, Reckitt Benckiser, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Sun & Alliance, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Scoot.Com, Scottish & Southern Energy, Sema Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Skyepharma, Smiths Group, Surfcontrol, Tesco Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities, Vodafone Group Plc, and Zen Research.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Oil shares like BP Amoco and Shell gained as crude oil rose to close at $27.6 a barrel on the NYME commodities exchange.

• British Telecom (BT) and Vodafone Group gained after reporting increases in their subscriber numbers last week.

• Reckitt Benckiser gained 5.11% after stating that it expects fiscal Q1 revenue to increase between 7% and 8%.

• Powergen gained 1.92% after announcing that German utility E.ON is acquiring it for £5.1 billion.

• A story in the weekend edition of the Guardian that Marks & Spencer is due to make a trading about its financial health caused concerns with investors and pushed the shares down 1.04%.

• Psion lost 3.69% on news that Motorola, a minority stake owner in the wireless software consortium Symbian™, is opposed to floating the software company. 

• Mobile phone company Orange gained 1.38% after announcing that it added 2.6 million customers in Q1 alone, well above analysts' estimates.

• Software shares were still under pressure today due to the earnings warning of Autonomy on Friday.

• Tesco and Debenhams gained 2.86% and 0.66% respectively on the eve of their earnings reports.

• Retailer J Sainsbury gained 2.50% after reporting that for the 12 weeks ending March 31st, total store sales rose a strong 6.9%, and like-for-like sales rose 4.8%.

• Telecommunications equipment maker Marconi lost 4.59% after the Sunday Business and The Financial Times reported over the weekend that Marconi will announce up to 3,000 job cuts and issue a profit warning as early as tomorrow. Marconi refused to issue a comment. Spirent, a fellow telecom equipment maker closed down 8.82% as investors became nervous of the sector.

• Amazon.Com reported that its losses in fiscal Q1 will be 8 cents a share less than analysts were forecasting. Amazon.Com gained on the NASDAQ.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• After hours activity in the US seem calm. We think there is a higher probability that the LSE will rally tomorrow at even a broader scale.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the  United States

<---D069--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Friday April 6th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5601.5   -20.3

FTSE 250:  6051.6  +3.0

FTSE A/S: 2694.42   -7.72

TechMARK 100: 1780.11   -56.86

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 closed lower after earnings warnings from major US technology and blue chip stocks. The US Unemployment report that was released today showing rising unemployment didn't help either. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank Plc, Alexander Russell, Allied Domecq, Alphameric, Anglo American, Bank of Ireland, BG Group Plc, BOC Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British American Tobacco, BTG Group Plc, Capita Group, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Canary Wharf Plc, Carlton Communications, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica, Clinton Cards Plc, Computacenter, Daily Mail, Debenhams Plc, Diageo Plc, EMI Group Plc, Fairey Group, Fibernet Group, F.I. Group, Filtronic Plc, Galen Holdings, Genemedix, Guardian IT Plc, Intec Telecom, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications, Lloyds TSB Group, London Bridge Software, Medisys, Meggitt Plc, Ncipher, Northgate Information Solutions, NSB Retail Systems, Orchestream Holdings, Pearson Plc, Phytopharm Plc, Powerject Pharmaceuticals Plc, Prudential Plc, Recognition Systems, Redbus Interhouse, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, Ricardo Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM, RMC, Royalblue Group, Sema Plc, Sherwood International, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Shroders NV, Skyepharma, Smith & Nephew Plc, Smiths Group, St. Ives, Surfcontrol, Telecity, Telework Group, Tesco Plc, Torotrack, TTP Communications, United Business Media, Vodafone Group Plc, and Zen Research.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Software company Autonomy lost 41.95% after warning that its fiscal Q1 figures will be short due to corporate cuts in IT spending. Autonomy also said revenues will be around $14 million to $15 million, well lower the city analysts' estimates of $20 million to $24 million.

• Greeting cards company Clinton Cards gained 10.20% after reporting full year pretax profits of £19.1 million, an 8.5% increase.

• Bright Station, a software company and rival of Autonomy, gained 5.26% after making known that orders for its SmartLogik™ software are not experiencing problems.

• Prudential finally gained 0.65% after stating that it will not make a higher bid for American General.

• Construction firm RMC gained 1.09% after agreeing to acquire Alexander Russell for £59.7 million. Alexander Russell gained 4.62%. 

• Telecommunications equipment testing firm Spirent lost 7.16% after its US rival Agilent Technologies issued an earnings warning yesterday.

• Dixons Group lost 0.09% after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) ruled that Dixons does not dominate the home computer supply market, and as a matter of fact, its market share is considerably lower than 40%.

• Mining giants Anglo American and Rio Tinto gained 2.32% and 2.46% respectively after outgoing CEO of Canada's Inco Ltd., the largest nickel producer in the western world, named the 2 mining giants as the candidates who have Inco in their takeover focus.

• Billiton Plc. lost 1.88% after announcing that it will likely seek new Copper and Nickel assets with proposed merger partner BHP Ltd. Maybe they need to eye Inco too.

• Debenhams, Bank of Ireland, Tesco, and St. Ives all gained on the eve of their earnings report next week, while ARM Holdings, JJB Sports, and WH Smith, also reporting next, closed lower.

• Shell lost 1.28% after extending its $1.8 billion bid for Barrett Resources till April 20th.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• We expect next week to be just as rough a week as this one. Unless the US Federal Reserve Bank takes action to reduce interest rates before their May meeting.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the  United States

<---D068--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Thursday April 5th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5621.8   +86.1

FTSE 250:  6048.6  +63.8

FTSE A/S: 2702.14   +39.47

TechMARK 100: 1836.97   +72.53

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) rallied after it looked like US markets will be closing in the black. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank Plc, Alliance & Leicester, Alphameric Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American, Anite Group Plc, Arcadia Group Plc, Arc International, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca, Austin Reed Group, Autonomy, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, Bank of Scotland, BG Group Plc, Billiton Plc, BOC Group Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways, British American Tobacco, British Telecom, BskyB, BTG Group Plc, Cable & Wireless, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Canary Wharf Plc, Carlton Communications, Cedar Group Plc, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Compass Group Plc, CMG Plc, Diageo Plc, Diagonal Plc, Dimension Data Plc, Eidos, Eircom, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group, Filtronic Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Guardian IT Plc, Gus Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Hays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Imagination Technology, Imperial Tobacco, Invensys, IQE, Kewill Systems, Kidde Plc, Kinfisher Plc, Kingston Communications, Land Securities, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer, Medisys, Meggitt Plc, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media, National Grid Plc, NSB Retail Systems, Old Mutual Plc, Orange, Orchestream Holdings, Oxford Glycosciences, Parthus group Plc, Pearson Plc, Powerject Pharmaceuticals Plc, Psion Plc, Railtrack, Recognition Systems, Reed International, Reuters Group Plc, Ricardo Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Riversoft Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sage Group Plc, Scipher Plc, Sema Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Smith & Nephew Plc, South African Breweries, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Surfcontrol, Ted Baker, Telewest Communications, Telework Group, Tesco Plc, Thus Plc, Torex Plc, Trafficmaster, TTP Communications, Turbo TGNA, WPP Group Plc, and Zen Research.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Sema gained 0.18% after Schlumberger, the US oil and Gas company set to acquire it, announced that the European Commission has approved the acquisition.

• Marks & Spencer gained 1.59% as Charles Schwab figures show it is the most bought shares in the last 4 days. Apparently, investors like the restructuring plan the company announced.

• Prudential Group closed lower despite announcing that it will not increase its controversial bid for US based American General.

• Compass Group gained 1.73% after announcing the completion of its Morrison Management Specialists acquisition. As of tomorrow, Morrison will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

• Pearson gained 1.27% after announcing that it is cutting 40 jobs at its online units like the The Financial Times' FT.Com. 

• Kewill Systems gained 15.32% after announcing that its operating profits for the year up to March 31st. will meet estimates. Kewill Systems CEO will also be stepping down as of the end of June this year.

• British Telecom gained 2.91% on reports that it is selling its Yell™ business directory for at least £3 billion so as to cut down its debts.

• Baltimore Technology gained 18.64% on rumours that it might issue a trading statement next week. FT MarketWatch reported that the company did confirm it will make a trading statement next week.

• Arcadia Group gained 27.19% after reporting first half profits of £29.1 million, well above city analysts' estimates of £21 million, and more than triple last year's.

• Ted Baker gained 14.29% after reporting full year pretax profits of £8.2 million, a 3.7% increase. Ted Baker's sales rose 28% for the period, and the company also stated that for first 9 weeks of the new fiscal year, sales are already 42% above last year's.

• Austin Reed gained 3.50% after reporting that its full year pretax profits came in at £6.8 million, a 17% increase, and sales rose 2.5%.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks mixed, especially the networking related sector. Secondly, the US unemployment data is due tomorrow and everyone have their eyes fixed on that. Anything is possible tomorrow.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the  United States

<---D067--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday April 4th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5535.7   +72.6

FTSE 250:  5984.8  -31.6

FTSE A/S: 2662.67   +26.12

TechMARK 100: 1764.44   -6.58

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 recovered today after US markets looked like they will be closing in the black. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank Plc, Alliance & Leicester, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American, Arcadia Group Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca, Austin Reed Group, BAA Plc, Bank of Scotland, Bass Plc, BG Group Plc, Billiton Plc, Blue Circle Industries, BOC Group Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways, British American Tobacco, British Telecom, BskyB, Cable & Wireless, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Carlton Communications, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Compass Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Dimension Data Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Eircom, Energis Plc, Guardian IT Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Hays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Imperial Tobacco, International Power, Invensys, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications, Land Securities, Lattice Group Plc, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, London Bridge Software, Marconi Plc, Misys Plc, National Grid Plc, Nycomed Amersham Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Pearson Plc, Prudential Plc, Reed International, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Smith & Nephew Plc, South African Breweries, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Surfcontrol, Ted Baker, Tesco Plc, Trafficmaster, Unilever Plc, United Utilities Plc, and Vodafone Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Marconi gained 12% on speculation that it will not issue an earnings warning.

• British Telecom gained 7.31% on rumours that it is considering a possible merger with Cable & Wireless. Cable & Wireless gained 0.43%.

• Prudential gained 6.92% after losing its controversial bid to acquire US insurance and annuity giant, American General, to a bigger bid from AIG. Prudential now walks away with $600 million breakaway fees. Rumours are now that, Prudential is now interested in Stein Roe & Farnham Mutual Funds parent Liberty Financial.

• Surfcontrol, the Internet content filtering company which generates 75% of its revenue in the US, gained 11.63% after larger losses in fiscal Q3, but its turnover rose 200% to $11.1 million.

• Hotels and Leisure giant Compass Group gained 2.56% after announcing the sell of its Posthouse Hotels chain to leading brewer Bass Plc. for £810 million in cash. Bass also closed up 3.65%. 

• Biotechnology company Celltech Group gained 11.7% after announcing that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its hyperactive drug Metadate. Metadate is due in stores this summer.

• International Power and National Grid gained 3.75% and 0.27% respectively after the House of Lords ruled that National Power and National Grid, the company that these companies were demerged from, does not have to hand over the £1.5 billion in the so-called surplus pension funds to thousands of retired electric workers pensioners. The pensioners intend to appeal the ruling to the European Courts.

• Arcadia Group and Ted Baker gained 7.52% and 1.58% respectively on the eve of their earnings report. Austin Reed, also scheduled to report tomorrow, gained 0.50%.

• Cambridge Antibody Technology lost 4.69% after filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) so as to be listed on the NASDAQ's American Deposit Receipts (ADRs).

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks better for the first time in 3 days. Bargain hunters will likely come out.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the  United States

<---D066--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday April 3rd. 2001

FTSE 100: 5463.1   -155.4

FTSE 250:  6016.4  -90.5

FTSE A/S: 2636.55   -69.48

TechMARK 100: 1771.02   -136.76

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 closed lower again after some heavy weight US companies issued earnings warnings. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Arcadia Plc, Bass Plc, Blue Circle Industries, Compass Group Plc, De Vere Group, Genus Plc, Go Ahead Group Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings Plc, International Power, MSB International, Prelude Trust Plc, Reckitt Benckiser, Rio Tinto Plc, Safeway Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish & Southern Energy, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Tesco Plc, and United Utilities Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Advertising giant WPP Group closed lower as advertisement revenues became a concern again.

• Funds moved into utility and drug shares.

• Earnings warnings from US software companies clouded software and other technology shares today. Telecommunications shares also lost as investors become increasingly concerned about their huge debts.

• Telecommunications equipment maker Marconi lost 11.92% on speculation that it might also issue an earnings warning.

• Reuters Group lost 8.89% after setting the IPO price of its US after hours trading company Instinet at between $11 to $14 a share.

• Mining shares were strong today.

• Telecommunications equipment maker Pressac lost 30.35% after warning that the slowdown in the phone market will affect its sales and profits for most of 2001.

• AEA Technology gained 25.49% after making known that it has being approached by interested companies to acquire whole or parts of it.

• Online gaming centre GamePlay lost 27.45% after confirming that it is in talks with a third party about selling its boxed games and its technology division.

• Cattle breeder Genus gained 28% after announcing that it doesn't see the Foot-and-Mouth outbreak impacting its business in the long term.

• Canary Wharf lost 0.58% despite news that it has agreed to lease a 30-storey building in the Isle of Dogs development complex to investment bankers Lehman Brothers.

• SurfControl lost only 26.01% after fighting nasty rumours all day that the company is set to issue an earnings warning when it reports its fiscal Q3 results Wednesday.

• Recognition Systems lost 67.25% after warning that its year sales to September 30th. will be significantly lower, and losses will be well higher than forecasted.

• Railtrack lost 15.79% after UBS Warburg downgraded the stock to a "buy" recommendation from its previous "strong buy".

• AFTER CLOSE: American General, the large US insurer and annuity company, rejected Prudential's acquisition offer, and accepted a higher offer from AIG.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks very rough. Watch for more losses for the LSE tomorrow.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the  United States

<---D065--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Monday April 2nd. 2001

FTSE 100: 5618.5   -15.2

FTSE 250:  6106.9  +12.2

FTSE A/S: 2706.03   -5.37

TechMARK 100: 1898.85   -28.73

SUMMARY

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 closed lower after some heavy weight US companies issued earnings warnings. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank, Alliance & Leicester, Allied Domecq, Amvescap, Bae Systems Plc, Bank of Scotland, Bass Plc, BOC Group Plc, Cable & Wireless, Cammell Laird Plc, Centrica Plc, Diageo Plc, Elementis Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Hays Plc, ICI Ltd, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings Plc, Invensys Plc, J Sainsbury, Kingfisher Plc, Lloyds TSB Group, Manchester United, Marks & Spencer, National Grid, Nycomed Amersham, Old Mutual, Reckitt Benckiser, Rentokil Initial, Safeway Plc, Schroders NV, Scoot.Com, Shell Transport & Trading, Skyepharma Plc, South Africa Breweries, Sportech Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Tesco Plc, United Utilities, Vodafone Group Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Major UK credit card issuing banks like Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland closed lower after American Express of the US issued an earnings warning for its fiscal Q1.

• Cable & Wireless gained 3.16% after announcing that it is selling its 14.7% stake in Hong Kong's Pacific Century Cyberworks through convertible bonds valued at $1.5 billion.

• Imperial Tobacco gained after announcing the acquisition of a 75% stake in Tobaccor, the second largest cigarette manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa, for £179 million.

• EMI Group lost 2.05% on the news that it is teaming up with Germany's Bertelsmann Group, and the US' AOL Time Warner and RealNetworks to form a company that will provide subscription based music download on the internet that will be called MusicNet.

• Manchester United gained 10.42% after reporting that its first half pretax profits rose to £17.34 million, a 42% increase, and well above analysts' estimates.

•